A Very Special Christmas
by Elephantian
Summary: It's Christmas and Mark has no money for gifts. Can three mysterious little girls help him out? [oneshot]


**Just a little thought that came to me and I thought it was sweet. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the little girls.**

**By the way, the names are pronounced as following…**

**Htraeno (hit-RAY-no)**

**Nevaeh (nev-EYE-uh) (but it can be pronounced other ways)**

**Ecaep (ee-CAP)**

**Evol (EE-vohl)**

"December 24, 1991, 10 pm, eastern standard time. Yup, it's Christmas Eve and the park is completely deserted save one completely broke, struggling cameraman whose name is Mark Cohen."

Mark paned around the snow-covered park, smiling. He didn't mind being the only person in the park. In fact, it soothed him. He could yell out and no one would hear. And it was snowing- a bonus.

But the real reason he was in the below-freezing park instead of at the loft with the rest of the bohemians celebrating the holidays- Mark didn't have the money for gifts. His friends had done so much for him, and he was sure they were tired of films. Mark had been trying to raise money, but it hadn't quite worked. That, and he wasn't sure what to get. So here he was, standing alone in the dark.

"Excuse me Mister," Mark heard someone say, "Will you help me?"

Mark spun around and saw three little girls. They all had bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. They all wore sparkling white jackets, pants and boots and had pearl-colored packs on their backs. The youngest one looked about two, the middle around four and the biggest around five or six. The two smaller ones were hiding behind the bigger one.

Mark scanned the park for an adult, but didn't see one. "Are you girls here by yourself?" he asked.

The oldest one nodded. "Yes Sir," she said, her eyes growing large with childlike innocence.

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't know," the girl answered, "But will you please help us? Our parents sent us to go somewhere, but we lost our way. We're not expected back until tomorrow, so I was wondering, could we stay with you for the night? Please mister?"

Mark smiled slightly. Alphabet City wasn't a safe place for three little girls. Besides it _was_ Christmas anyway. "Of course," he answered, "I'm Mark Cohen."

The girls all smiled widely, revealing perfect teeth. "I'm Htraeno Nevaeh, or just Nevaeh. And these are my sisters, Evol and Ecaep. Evol is the smaller one by the way."

"Those are pretty names," Mark said kindly, and the girls giggled.

"Thank you Mr. Cohen," Nevaeh said.

"Please, call me Mark."

And with that, Mark picked up Evol, the youngest one, and led the others to the loft.

"We're almost there," he said when he saw Ecaep yawn.

* * *

Evol was already sleeping soundly when they reached the loft and her sisters weren't far behind. Of course, they perked up when the saw the party being held inside the loft.

Joanne had bought a fake Christmas tree and it was now set up in the middle of the loft, being decorated by Mimi and Maureen. Collins was just putting some food on the table and Roger was playing Christmas carols on his guitar.

"Mark we were wondering where you were," Roger said, his eyes widening when he saw the girls, "Um Mark, who are they?"

"Pookie, do you have a secret family?" Maureen teased.

"No," Mark answered, "Guys, this is Nevaeh, Ecaep and Evol. They got lost in the park and I offered to let them stay here overnight. I hope you guys don't mind."

"Not at all," they all answered, gladly welcoming the little guests.

Nevaeh headed straight to Collins. "What are you making?" she asked curiously.

"Not much," Collins said, chuckling, "We can't afford much. But, we did manage to scrape together some money for some assorted food. And when put together in the right way, I made some stew, which is the best we've done in a while."

"It smells delicious," Nevaeh said, "Oh, that reminds me. I have some food in my pack. If I don't use it by tomorrow it'll go bad."

With that, she pulled can after can out of her bag.

Collins' eyes lit up. "Cranberry sauce. Corn. Soup. Beans. This is just what I need. Thanks!"

He gave her a hug and dug out the can opener.

Ecaep went to Mimi and Maureen.

"Hi sweetie," Mimi said kindly, "What's your name again?"

"Ecaep."

"That's a cool, exotic name," Maureen said, smiling, "So much more interesting than boring Maureen."

Mimi and Ecaep smiled. "There aren't many decorations on that tree," Ecaep mused.

"Well," Mimi said, before Maureen could hurt the girl's feelings, "We have to spend money on food and…medicine and whatnot, so there isn't much left for decorations. But we try our best."

"Oh, well, I have some decorations in my backpack," Ecaep said, "We bought new ones last year, so we don't need them anymore. Why don't you use them?"

Mimi and Maureen's faces lit up. "Oh that'd be great!" Maureen squealed as she watched the brightly colored ornaments fall to the floor as Ecaep dumped the contents of her pack at the feet of the older women.

Evol, still a little groggy, wiggled out of Mark's grasp and tottered over to Roger.

"Darn," he said, being careful to watch his language, putting his guitar aside for a moment so he could lift the girl up onto the couch, "My string broke!"

"My brother used to play guitar," Evol said, "But he didn't like it very much. He has lots of spare strings left. I think I have some in my pack."

With that, Evol pulled a pack of spare guitar strings out of her bag and handed them to Roger.

"Thanks!" he said, tuning up the string, "Have any requests?"

"Can you play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?" she asked shyly.

"That's the first song I learned how to play," Roger mused and began playing.

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are…" the two sung, their voices filling the room.

"Dinner's ready!" Collins called, setting down the last platter of food down on the table.

There was a stampede of hungry people and soon everyone was eating.

"Mm, this is delicious!" Mimi said, taking another helping of corn.

"Thanks Meems," Collins said, "But Nevaeh helped. She's the one who provided most of the food."

Mimi turned to Nevaeh. "Well thank you," she said, "This is the best, and most, food I've had in a long time!"

The girl blushed. "Thanks,"

After dinner everyone sat around the tree and sang carols with the accompaniment of Roger's guitar.

"The tree looks really great," Roger said, "I never knew we had so much junk to put on it."

"We didn't," Maureen said, "But Ecaep gave us some decorations. Thank her."

"Thanks." Roger said.

"You're welcome," Ecaep said, beaming.

"Hey Roger," Mark said, "Are you sure your string isn't going to break? It's been kinda iffy lately."

"Evol had a spare string, so I'm set."

"Oh, thanks Evol," Mark said.

"You're welcome," she whispered.

A few hours later, everyone was asleep on the floor. Maureen and Joanne's arms were intertwined on the couch. Mimi's head was on Roger's stomach. Collins was leaning against the wall, almost empty bottle of Stoli in hand. Evol and Ecaep were leaning against each other. Mark's arms were protectively around Nevaeh, a smile on his face.

* * *

"Hey Mark," Collins said, shaking his friend, "Wake up!"

"Mm, what is it?" Mark asked.

"The kids are gone,"

Mark shot straight up. "What?"

"I can't find them anywhere."

Mark scanned the loft. It was true, the three little girls were nowhere in sight. He spied a note next to him on the floor and picked it up.

_Dear Mark,_

_Thank you so much for your generous act of kindness last night. We had fun with you and your friends. There is so much evil in the world and it's nice to know that in the middle of it a person can find solace. Have a Happy Chanukah Mark and tell the others Merry Christmas._

_-Htraeno Nevaeh, Htraeno Ecaep and Htraeno Evol_

_P.S. We took the liberty of getting gifts for your friends._

Mark was puzzled. How did they know he was Jewish? How did they know he needed gifts for his friends?

Mark stared at the letter, his eyes growing large. Htraeno. 'On earth' backwards. And the other names? Nevaeh, heaven. Ecaep, peace. Evol, love. Heaven on Earth, Peace on Earth and Love on Earth.

And suddenly he knew how they knew.

"So Mark," Collins said suddenly, "What did you think of the girls last night?"

Mark grinned. "They were little angels."


End file.
